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One of Wales’s few gold medal prospects has withdrawn from the Commonwealth
Games after failing a routine drugs test.

Rhys Williams, 30, the son of JJ Williams, the former Welsh rugby winger,
dropped out of the 400m hurdles yesterday while protesting his innocence. He
is the reigning European champion, and was joint captain of the Welsh squad
in Glasgow.

Williams said that he was “utterly devastated” by the findings. “From the
outset, I would strongly like to state that I have not knowingly taken any
banned substance,” he said in a statement.